Improvement in coal conveyers and elevators



T. HOOLE. Improvement in rCoal Conveyer and Elevattyr.

Patented Sep.24,1872,'

mummy Josnrn r. Hoo s, or EBUFFALO, NEW YORK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,683, datedSeptember 24, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH THOMAS Room, of Bufialo, in the county ofErie and State of New York, have invented an Improved Goal Oonveyer andElevator, of which the following is a specification:

It is the object of my invention to afford facilities for moving coal ondocks, in yards, and other situations, and to place it on board a ofvessels or cars by mechanical power, thereby dispensingwith manual laborin shoveling i and wheeling; and it consists in the arrangement ofscoops or shovels in connection with ropes or chains andpulley-bearings, in com bination with an inclined plane or planes,screen, and chuteor pockets, whereby, with suitable power applied, onescoop or series of scoops advances and deposits its or their load orloads on the screen or in the pockets, while another scoop or seriesthereof simultaneously recedes to receive another load or loads, all ashereinafter fully described.

In the drawing, Figure l is a sectional side elevation, and Fig. 2 isaplan view.

As shown in the drawing, :0 represents a wharf, on which are erected twoupright posts or standards, AA, or other suitable framework, onwhich issupported the elevated end of an inclined plane or floor, B, havingvertical sides a, a and a central longitudinal partition, b, (best shownin Fig. 2.) Connected with the elevated end of this .incline is areverse inclined chute or spout, O, which forms the upper part of themainchute E. The bottom of the chute (J is composed of a movablewire-cloth screen or sifter, 0, over which the coal is separated fromthe dust and dirt,

T which falls through its meshes while the coal passes over into thechute E. On either side of this screen and above it are arranged twopulleys or blocks, dd, through which ropes orchains f f run, and towhich are connected over two pulleys, hit, each pulleybeing attached toan upright post or strong frame-work, t i, as shown; the rope y thenextends forward to, and isconnected with, the other bucket.

This arrangement of the ropes or chainsf and g g forms, as it were, anendless belt w1th the buckets attached. The standards 6 i can be set atany distance from each other and from the frame-work A A that may berequired to comprehend the coal or ore to be worked on, by employing alength of chain or rope corresponding with such distance,

' It will readily be seen that if the rope f is pulled in adirectiontoward the chute the bucketto which it is attached will bedrawn alongthe surface of the pile J J, and will scoop up and fillwith the coal anddraw it up the inclinled plane, where it will discharge either into a"coal-pocket or on the screen, as may be required, the coal sodischarged being conveyed by the chute into'the vessel or otherreceptacle. The ropes or chains and buckets being geared in the mannerdescribed, it is obvious that the act of drawing one bucket forwardsimultaneously moves the other bucket back. The shape of the buckets issuch that in moving backward they pass freely over the coal withoutfilling. The rope and buckets are operated by a stationary engine orother power, placed in any suitable position, to which the ropes ffextend, as shown in Fig. 2, and the motion is reversed when the bucketof one side has discharged its contents on the screen 0 and the otheradvances withits load. Thus each bucket loads, discharges, and returnsalternately in succession. The division b in the incline plane is forthe purpose of keeping a clear way for each bucket as it advances andrecedes. If it should be required to move the coal in the oppositedirection it is easily accomplished by reversing the buckets D D. Theaction of the bucketsin moving backward or forward is shown by the lineJ J, which indicates the top of a coal-pile.

This device is'of great importance andntility to coal-shippers andothers, as it dispenses with the labor of many men in shoveling andwheeling the coal on a level and hoisting it to drop it into pockets,chutes, &c. The incline B leads directly to the pocket or chute, andcoal drawn up by this method falls at once into either, as desired,saving thereby greatly in labor, time, and expense of handling.

What'I claim as my invention, and an im-' provement in machinery formoving and ele va'tin g coal, is-

The scoops D D, and ropes or chains f f g 9, arranged in connection withthe pulleybearings d d and h h, and suitable power to alternatelyadvance and recede, in combination with the incline B and. screen 0 andpocket or chute E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

J. T. HOOLE. Witnesses:

J. R. DRAKE, A. J. HOOLE.

